Hi all,

Inside today’s main piece I begin my look ahead to a fabulous Easter weekend of action across the world.

Looking Ahead of the Weekend – Part 1

Throughout this Easter weekend, there's a plethora of thrilling racing action for enthusiasts of both flat and jump codes. It all commences on Good Friday, with All-Weather Championships Finals Day at Newcastle, boasting substantial prize money. Additionally, Lingfield hosts a valuable all-weather card, making for an exciting afternoon of racing, with ITV Racing showcasing ten races from both venues.

On Saturday, all eyes in the racing world turn to Dubai for World Cup Night, featuring top-quality racing at Meydan. While some British punters may not typically engage with Meydan action, the calibre of this year’s racing makes it noteworthy. Indeed, Saturday evening is a truly global event. Although I haven't been involved in Meydan this winter, I've thoroughly analysed the World Cup card and plan to participate.

Back on British shores, Haydock offers Premier Racing over jumps, while Musselburgh hosts flat racing, with ITV capturing the best of the action from both tracks on Saturday afternoon.

Across the Irish Sea, Fairyhouse kicks off its three-day Easter Festival on Saturday, culminating on Monday with the prestigious Irish Grand National. The latter race will be shown live on the main ITV channel alongside races from Kempton & Plumpton.

My head is deeply buried in the form book looking for weekend winners. However, here are few entries that have attracted my eye on Saturday’s Musselburgh card.

Musselburgh

Here’s a brief look at the Musselburgh card.

There’s £51,540 on offer for Musselburgh’s Virgin Bet Queen's Cup (Heritage Handicap) (3:35). It’s Saturday’s most valuable race. Twenty-one horses were left in the race at Monday’s final confirmation stage and with a maximum field of 14, it’s likely we should have close to a full-sized field.

Chillingham, trained by Ed Bethell, is a horse I really like. He proved his stamina for 1m 6f at Wolverhampton in November and remains capable of landing a decent handicap pot this season. He does well on testing ground, so any further easing of the ground won’t be inconvenient and he did win first time up last season.

Mark Johnston saddled the winner of the race in 2019 & 2021 and son Charlie had five entered in the race on Monday. The one I like most is Struth. Struth ended last season on a high with a neck 2^nd of 13 in the November Handicap at Newcastle (Chillingham, 5 length 9^th). He’s equally effective on turf and won on soft ground on his seasonal return in 2023. He’s been gelded since his latest run so it will be interesting if the unkindest cut of all can eke out a bit more improvement.

1:50 – Virgin Bet Royal Mile Handicap (Class 3)

Charlie Johnson has saddled the winner of this race for the last two seasons. Johnston has got three entries in this year’s race: Individualism, Peace Walk and Sennockian and all three have jockey’s booked. Richard Fahey had the winner of this corresponding race in 2017 & 2019, and he could run Silent Move.

2:25 – Virgin Bet Silver Arrow Handicap (Class 2) – 7f

Gweedore has won the last two running’s of the race, and it looks the 7-year-old will be bidding for the hat trick. Northern Express was a 4-length 5^th last year but was unlucky in the run. He was also runner-up in 2022. He’s entitled to go well again although I’m not totally sure Musselburgh plays to his strengths. Neither Gweedore nor Northern Express have been installed favourite instead the lightly raced 4-year-old Poet Master heads the betting.

3:00 – Virgin Bet Scottish Sprint Cup Handicap (Class 2) – 5f

Jm Jungle a winner of a Bahrain handicap and last year’s winner Silky Wilkie head the ante post betting. The latter had now dropped 2lb below last season’s winning mark. Zarzyni last win came in this race in 2022 and he’s now 17lb lower. He was runner-up in a Class 4 handicap at Newcastle 27 days ago and his turn seems to be close. Three-time C&D winner Makanah would be an interesting contender but I’m not sure he’s an intended runner.

Good luck with your Tuesday bets.

John